


High Fever

by AHeartForStories



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Hiccup Whump, Seizures, Sick Character, Sick Fic, Sickfic, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:42:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26166571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AHeartForStories/pseuds/AHeartForStories
Summary: Hiccup whump. Knowing that one of their friends was born too early means that they know he's bound to get sick more easily. Even if he's less frequently ill than he used to be. But then he suffers from a high fever and something happens to him that none of the Riders have ever seen before.
Relationships: Barf and Belch & Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Fishlegs Ingerman, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Hookfang, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Ruffnut Thorston, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Snotlout Jorgenson, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Toothless, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Tuffnut Thorston, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Comments: 18
Kudos: 197





	High Fever

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this because I was reminded by someone that seizures can also be caused by high fevers. I thought it would be especially fun in a Viking setting since they probably wouldn't have known what it was.  
> Constructive criticism is appreciated!  
> Enjoy!

Knowing that one of their friends was born too early means that they can at least understand some of Hiccup's struggles now and during his childhood growing up. They may not know everything that coming prematurely into the world can cause, but when Hiccup falls terribly ill every Winter and Devastating Winter, the Dragon Riders know that it may have something to do with that.

Though the earliest testament to his innate ability to survive the unsurvivable, they know it caused Hiccup's frequent illnesses as a child.

Someone fell ill, Hiccup was sure to get it. An epidemic came to Berk, Hiccup got it. Sometimes he seemed to catch something from Johann or one of the many seafaring travelers visiting their island even when they weren't sick themselves or even shared the boy's personal space. They don't quite know how that one works, but it happened much too often for it to be coincidental.

It is part of why Stoick kept him mostly indoors with someone to watch him or at Gobber's forge while he was growing up. It's also part of how the boy got roped into an apprenticeship as a blacksmith in the first place.

But then he grows older and those sicknesses appeared to stay away more often. His body is getting stronger every year as he gets closer to adulthood. That is, until the even colder months on Berk come around or the occasional eelpox epidemic.

With dragons, it's easier for him to separate himself from the sick. Eelpox comes to Berk? Then perhaps it is time for Hiccup to take some time away from home. Or at least away from the village. After some time, he started calling it "self-isolation".

But despite the attempts at keeping him safe, despite the strengthening his body has done over time, he still tends to fall ill. And when that happens, he doesn't just get the sniffles or a cough. He's bedridden for days. Occasionally, for longer than a week. It only took Toothless weeks after the Red Death's end to find out how susceptible his Rider is to this silent and faceless attacker.

When the Dragon Riders come to live on the Edge for a year, this is no different. It may be just a tad bit warmer here than it is on Berk, but still, an illness has made its move and forced the Lead Rider to not just confine himself to his hut for his own well-being, but has made him unable to even leave his bed.

It started with a simple cough just two days earlier and slight light-headedness. It rightfully garnered everybody's immediate attention right then. Since yesterday morning he's been stuck in bed, curling up under several layers of furs in an attempt to stay warm while a fever runs rampant throughout his system.

Fishlegs has warned him against doing that as he's risking a rise in his temperature, but he's just so cold.

Snotlout and the twins have taken over most of the patrols around Dragon's Edge. In the meantime, Fishlegs and Astrid have been staying by Hiccup's side to help him get through this illness. Toothless is there as well, but unlike the two of them, there isn't much he can do besides providing his Rider with much-needed support.

Hiccup watches his dragon as he sits by him, head on the bed in between his front paws. Toothless' gaze meets his and he purrs. He hates seeing his Rider like this, the pain in his eyes tells it all, and Hiccup can't even tell him that he's fine. That is how horrendous he feels.

Something rattles as he breathes, his head feels heavy on top of the headache he's suffering from, his throat is dry and aches so much with every swallow that he almost can't anymore. Water gives him little relief. And besides his fever, the other symptom he's suffering from the most is a heavy cough that plagues him almost constantly.

At this point, his ribs are already hurting every time the urge comes. That's how much he's been coughing. That seems to be a common occurrence. He can't just cough like normal people, he has to do it so much that he's already hurting two days later.

Fishlegs has told him before about Vikings having such coughing fits that they manage to break a rib. That is honestly the last thing he needs right now. That and the pneumonia that could come as a result.

He holds his sides as another fit tears through him and Astrid is quick to pull him upright, grabbing him by his upper arms. She hopes that will help him ease it.

Sitting up as he coughs helps a little. Astrid sits next to him and he can feel one of her hands on his upper back as she rubs it in support. Her expression can only be summed up by a combination of worry and a cringe. She shares it with both Toothless and Fishlegs, who stands ready with a jug of water and a cup.

It takes only seconds and yet it feels so much longer than that. When it finally ceases, he somehow feels even worse.

"Sorry." He apologizes as he gasps for the air he couldn't get during his coughing fit. He doesn't mean to lean onto Astrid like that, but he feels like falling over. The lack of oxygen has made his dizziness return.

"It's fine, Hiccup. Stop apologizing." Astrid tells him and Toothless rumbles in agreement with her. He's been doing that almost nonstop for the past two days.

"Here," Fishlegs offers him a cup of water, which he gratefully takes with shaky hands.

"So I was thinking," He starts and takes a seat on the edge of the bed as well. He's mindful of Hiccup's prosthetic as it lies on the floor near his feet.

"What, Fishlegs?" Hiccup asks after taking a painful gulp, grimacing after swallowing. His voice is hoarse and just barely above a whisper.

"Are you sure you want to wait until tomorrow to send a message to Berk?" He asks the query on his mind. It's been bugging him. He knows why Hiccup doesn't want to send one yet, or he has an assumption rather, but he doesn't feel comfortable with this decision.

"Yes." Hiccup sighs, not feeling up for an explanation as to why he thinks so.

"Are you? Because you were also sure that your cough two days ago "was just a little cough" and now look at you!" Sick or not, Astrid still lectures him.

"I know, I know..." Hiccup responds without much fire, immediately admitting defeat.

He has to close his eyes for a moment. All that coughing has made the pounding in his head even worse.

Really, all he wants is to sleep this sickness away.

He is tired enough. The problem is staying asleep with all those coughing fits and the headaches.

When he and the Dragon Riders first left for the Edge, what was bound to happen come Winter had completely evaded his mind. Up until the moment his first symptoms showed themselves, that is.

He doesn't like the Riders' insistence that they should alert his father, which is why he's been putting it off. It almost feels like a defeat to him. Like, his susceptibility to illnesses means he's forever dependent on his father when he should be fully capable of taking care of himself.

And now he's bothering his friends with this.

Toothless already knew. He was there some weeks after the Red Death's defeat, a little while after Snoggletog, when he was bedridden for a week. What a shock that was for him. To have such an energetic Rider reduced to nothing because of the sniffles.

That was also when Stoick decided to allow Toothless to sleep inside from then on. It was a reassurance to have an extra set of eyes watching over Hiccup when he couldn't be there. Either as a Chief or when he, as a tired and troubled father, needed some shut-eye himself.

The rest of his friends were already aware that he got very sick annually, but this is the first time they're witnessing it for themselves. And since Astrid and Fishlegs have barely left his side and Snotlout and the twins willingly volunteered to organize and take care of the patrols and other chores speaks volumes of how this experience has shaken them all up.

Gods, he gazes at Astrid and feels bad for stepping in a relationship with her now.

Is this what she gets to look forward to every year? A boyfriend that falls so terribly ill that she has to drop everything just to help him through it?

Why did he have to be so selfish?

"Stop it!" Astrid scolds him and lightly smacks him with the wet cloth they're using in an attempt to cool him.

"What?" He whispers.

"You were thinking something that _I_ don't like. I can see it on your face." She says and then proceeds to wring the cloth out over the bowl of water.

Apparently she's been wetting it again. He's so out of it that he hadn't even noticed. Fishlegs is no longer sitting on the bed either. Where has he gone? The cup, too, is missing.

"He's downstairs," Astrid answers as if she could read his mind.

"Hmm?"

"He went downstairs for more water and some willow bark." She repeats and this time with more information.

Hiccup sighs and closes his eyes for another moment. He feels so out of it all of a sudden. Different from what he's been feeling before.

And his heart is starting to pound. As if he's nervous about something. But what? And why?

Toothless croons in worry, able to tell that something different is off about his human.

"Hmm?"

The door to his hut opens just as Hiccup gives his dragon his attention and the three remaining Riders walk in. Hookfang and Barf and Belch poke their heads in to give the lead Rider their well wishes before they leave. Looking over, Hiccup raises a hand and weakly smiles.

"So how-how was it? No Hunters? Any Flyers?" He then asks the three new presences in the hut as they follow Fishlegs up the stairs.

"There's nothing to see for miles. So don't worry about that." Snotlout assures him in a surprisingly soft tone. He doesn't like to see him like this either. He's too pale and the lack of energy is unnerving.

He's so used to seeing him one way and that is the complete opposite of who he is now.

"Yeah, we got everything covered." Ruffnut backs Snotlout's answer up and Tuffnut nods.

"Hmm. Good." Bringing his right knee up, Hiccup rests his arm on it and then his head on that.

He's so tired. Tired, warm, cold, and in pain.

Moving a little bit closer, Toothless moans and nudges Hiccup's hands.

"Toothless?" He breathes, suddenly confused as to why his dragon is here.

Has he always been here?

His right hand moves to settles on his forehead. So warm. So, so warm.

"Hiccup?" Astrid lays a hand on his shoulder. The Riders have begun to talk about something, he's not a part of that conversation, when she realizes something is a little amiss.

Or rather, she didn't so much as realize as Toothless started nudging her to get her attention when his Rider seems to fall into an odd state of mind.

Slowly, too slowly, Hiccup gazes back at her and just stares. He wants to ask what's wrong, why she's staring at him like that, what all the Riders are doing here, but the ability to speak is lost to him.

Before he can regain it, he blacks out.

For the Riders and Toothless, it isn't quite as peaceful.

The dragon's effort to draw Astrid's attention draws all of their attention. They all take sudden notice of Hiccup's rather confused state of mind. He's just staring.

"Hiccup?" She calls his name and places a hand on his shoulder. And while he does glance at her, it's clear to all of them that Hiccup isn't quite in there anymore.

Is he becoming delirious? Has the fever finally taken his mind?

When he blacks out, his eyes roll into the back of his skull as he falls limp.

"Hiccup!" Astrid's quick reflexes are all that keep him from falling over. The rest of the Riders and Toothless try to as well.

She lowers him gently down on the bed and that's when something happens that none of them have ever seen or experienced before.

He just starts to convulse. Body rigid, fists and jaw clenched, somehow uncontrollable jerky movements suddenly plague him and nobody is quite sure what they're looking at.

"Hiccup!"

"What's that?! What's happening?!" Tuffnut shouts while the rest steps back in fright. They just freeze and stand there, unable to comprehend just what this is.

"Oh Thor, oh Thor!" Fishlegs yelps in a panic, staring at the scene, as they all are. Snotlout pushes him forward, wanting him to do something about it.

It's Astrid who makes a move, jumping into action and doing the only thing that comes to mind and that is to try and restrain him.

Toothless rears back in alarm, up on his hind legs. His head snaps from one direction to the next as he stares at his Rider from his head to his toes and back.

He lets out a terrible cry, looking for help with the other humans present.

"I-I don't know either, Toothless!" Astrid shouts, still pinning him down. Snotlout then attempts to dive into the fray to help her out, but is stopped by Fishlegs.

"What're you doing?!" He shouts.

"I don't think that'll help," Fishlegs says, sharing what he thinks might help.

"So we're just going to let him hurt himself?!" Snotlout loudly protests. He finds the other's words an outrage.

"Fishlegs!" Even Astrid seems to disagree, struggling to hold Hiccup still.

"Well, we have to do something!" Ruffnut cries out and Toothless, too, lets his protest be known.

They can't just sit there and watch Hiccup suffer!

"Trust me, please!" Fishlegs pulls Astrid away, to which he receives an elbow to a breast. She tends to communicate her feelings through violence and so she makes it quite clear that she doesn't appreciate his interrupting. She is going to help her boyfriend! Thor be damned!

So he lets her restrain Hiccup again, her grip bruising. Toothless has resorted to pacing around the loft while he pants quickly and shallowly. He's restless and in a frenzy.

He hates this. He hates being unable to help his Rider. He hates whatever it is that he's doing and whatever that's causing it.

It takes a full minute filled with fear, panic, terror, but eventually, the overly exaggerated tremors stop and all that are left are twitches and his shaky breathing.

The Riders and Toothless wait in tense silence. Either expecting a new fit of these terrible tremors or to find that they have ended for the time being.

Another minute passes and then another and gradually Astrid feels safe enough to carefully let go. Her fingertips have left bruises on his wrists, but she will feel bad about them later. What matters now is what just happened. She wipes at his mouth. She doesn't know why these convulsions got him to foam at the mouth, but it did.

"Fishlegs, what was that?!" She turns to ask him, her anger over his interruption has faded, but he doesn't know what to tell her.

He vaguely remembers Gothi telling him something about these convulsions happening during high fevers, but he also remembers her not knowing what causes them. Sometimes people get them after a head injury and sometimes they just... have them. Often. For seemingly no reason!

"I don't know." So that is the only answer Fishlegs can give her and Astrid turns her confused and worried expression back down at Hiccup.

Whimpering, Toothless carefully dares himself to come closer and sniffs Hiccup's face, which grimaces as he comes to.

"Hiccup?!" Everyone present who's capable of speech calls him by his name.

When he opens his eyes, blinking and sighing deeply, Hiccup finds the Riders kneeling in a circle around him, all looking down at him.

"What's... What happened to my wrists?" He wants to ask what's wrong, why everyone is staring at him like that, but then the bruises around his wrists catch his attention when he wants to bring his hands up to rub in his face.

"That's my doing," Astrid admits guiltily. She grabs them, her thumbs caressing them kindly.

"Wha- Why?" He asks, completely confused and rightfully so.

The Dragon Riders present look amongst themselves. They quickly figure out that, since he passed out right before the fit, he probably has no memory of the event.

"Doesn't matter right now. How're you feeling?" So Snotlout asks. They can explain everything to him later.

"Somehow even worse than I did before I blacked out. Or... I think I blacked out? I don't remember lying down." Though he wants answers, Hiccup lets it slide for now.

The Riders take another look at each other. So that proves the theory that he has no memory of what happened.

Hiccup takes a deep breath, blinking slowly. Seemingly out of the blue, he's also so much more tired than he was just minutes earlier. What happened after he blacked out?

"Tired?" Astrid asks and scoots closer. Hiccup nods, close to falling asleep. His eyes are already closing again. Perhaps for the last time tonight.

"Than you should sleep. That'll-that'll be good for you." Fishlegs states, stuttering a little as if something has shaken him up. Ruffnut and Tuffnut are suspiciously quietly as well, standing off to the side and watching.

Hiccup only hums in response and Toothless tells him good night with a purr. There is a slight curl on the corners of his lips, but they quickly leave as he falls into a deep, dreamless slumber. He dozes off quite a bit faster, too.

His breathing evens out and the six others sit back, suddenly exhausted as well.

It's silent for a good few minutes as all of them simply try to comprehend what they'd just witnessed.

"He's asleep," Fishlegs states the obvious, Toothless rumbles in response. It is a good thing. Sleep is good. Sleep is healing.

"So what do we do now?" Snotlou tasks, wondering if this means a sudden change to how Hiccup originally wanted to deal with the situation.

"We have to send a message to Berk. Tell Stoick what happened to his son and to bring Gothi here." Astrid says and Snotlout is already getting back up on his feet. Doesn't matter how weak his legs feel, he has to find a Terrible Terror willing to help. Sharpshot should be around here somewhere, he'll probably hurry for his human friend.

Meanwhile, the twins follow him down the stairs to find paper and something to write with.

"Hey, Astrid-"

"I'm sorry, Fishlegs." Astrid suddenly says, causing the young man to glance at her in confusion.

"You were just trying to help and I reacted very poorly. I was so panicked, I-... I shouldn't have reacted like that." She apologizes, feeling terrible for the way she has treated her friend.

"Uhm, it's okay... But I actually wanted to say that we should ask Stoick if Hiccup has had these fits before." Fishlegs reacts, to which Astrid nods.

"Yeah, that-that sounds like a good idea." She says and comes to sit on the floor, her back against the bed. Fishlegs' hands land on Toothless' head, who croons appreciatively.

The Night Fury could probably answer their question on whether they've happened in the past three years or not, but not before Hiccup's fifteenth birthday.

But by his reaction alone, Fishlegs can at least determine that Toothless has never seen Hiccup like this before either. Not in the three years they've known each other.

Snotlout and the twins return quickly and while Astrid gets back to cooling Hiccup's forehead, Fishlegs writes a letter to Berk.

This is an experience that will not be leaving their consciousness for a long while to come and for the rest of Hiccup's recovery, they fear another fit such as this.

But it doesn't happen again. And come next Winter, it doesn't happen. And then the next. The cause remains unknown and that provides them with no comfort. Every time Hiccup falls sick, that awful night comes back to the front of their minds and they can only hope that it doesn't happen again.


End file.
